The Final Frontiersman

The inspiration for The Last Alaskansthe eight-part documentary series on the Discovery Channel! Called [one of] the greatest life-or-death-tales ever told (Esquire), James Campbells inimitable insider account of a familys nomadic life in the unshaped Arctic wilderness is an icily gripping, intimate profile that stands up well beside Krakauers classic [Into the Wild], and it stands too, as a kind of testament to the rough beauty of improbably wild dreams (Mens Journal). Hundreds of hardy people have tried to carve a living in the Alaskan bush, but few have succeeded as consistently as Heimo Korth. Originally from Wisconsin, Heimo traveled to the Arctic wilderness in his feverous twenties. Now, more than three decades later, Heimo lives with his wife and two daughters approximately 200 miles from civilizationa sustainable, nomadic life bounded by the migrating caribou, the dangers of swollen rivers, and by the very exigencies of daily existence. In The Final Frontiersman, Heimos cousin James Campbell chronicles the Korth familys amazing experience, their adventures, and the tragedy that continues to shape their lives. With a deft voice and in spectacular, at times unimaginable detail, Campbell invites us into Heimos heartland and home. The Korths wait patiently for a small plane to deliver their provisions, listen to distant chatter on the radio, and go sledding at 44 below zeroall the while cultivating the hard-learned survival skills that stand between them and a terrible fate. Awe-inspiring and memorable, The Final Frontiersman reads like a rustic version of the American Dream and reveals for the first time a life undreamed by most of us: amid encroaching environmental pressures, apart from the herd, and alone in a stunning wilderness that for now, at least, remains the final frontier.

Additional ISBNs: 9780743453141, 074345314X, 9781416591214, 1416591214